Separating Voice and OTT Traffic via IMS Entitlement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current techniques for routing traffic in OTT applications, such as video calls and gaming, often result in delayed and lost packets, degrading voice call quality due to the mixing of video and voice traffic over best-effort data networks, which wastes resources and fails to meet quality of service requirements.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where user equipment (UE) separates voice and OTT traffic at different access point names and uses an IMS network for quality-guaranteed voice traffic while maintaining best-effort OTT traffic, utilizing an entitlement server to verify service entitlement and establish voice calls through a network bridge or application service, ensuring synchronized and high-quality voice and video experiences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If voice traffic and OTT traffic are routed together over best-effort data networks, then device complexity is reduced and ease of operation is improved, but voice call quality deteriorates due to packet delay and loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments traffic into two distinct paths: voice traffic is routed through the IMS network with QoS guarantees, while OTT traffic (video, data) is routed through the best-effort data network. This segmentation allows each traffic type to receive appropriate handling without interfering with the other, resolving the contradiction between operational simplicity and voice quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (the entitlement server and network bridge) that coordinates between the IMS network and data network. This intermediary manages the separation and synchronization of voice and OTT traffic streams, enabling quality-guaranteed voice service while maintaining ease of operation through automated routing decisions.
2Reliability
If voice traffic is separated and routed through IMS network with QoS guarantees, then voice call quality is improved, but device complexity and network complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service mechanisms where the entitlement server automatically verifies service entitlement and the network automatically routes traffic appropriately based on predefined policies. This automation reduces the need for complex device-side configuration and manual intervention, mitigating the complexity increase while maintaining quality-guaranteed voice service.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal service framework that can handle multiple traffic types (voice, video, data) through a single integrated system. The entitlement server and network bridge provide multi-functional capabilities, managing both QoS-guaranteed voice traffic and best-effort OTT traffic through unified mechanisms, thereby reducing overall system complexity despite the separation of traffic paths.
3Device complexity
If best-effort routing is used for both voice and OTT traffic, then network complexity is reduced, but resources are wasted due to packet retransmissions and quality improvement attempts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing different service levels to different traffic types: QoS guarantees for voice traffic and best-effort service for OTT traffic. This localized quality approach ensures that resources are allocated appropriately to each traffic type, preventing waste from unnecessary retransmissions of voice packets while maintaining network simplicity through selective rather than universal QoS application.
Data Source
AI summary
An originating user equipment may generate a request to utilize a service that links over-the-top content with a voice call, and may provide the request to an entitlement server of a core network associated with the originating user equipment. The originating user equipment may receive, from the entitlement server, information verifying entitlement of the originating user equipment for the service. The information may include a tag identifying the service. The originating user equipment may provide an invite message, with the tag, to a terminating user equipment and may establish the voice call with the terminating user equipment based on providing the invite message and via an Internet protocol multimedia subsystem (IMS) network and the core network. The originating user equipment may establish, concurrently with the voice call, a connection for the over-the-top content with the terminating user equipment via a data network and the core network.